Beamforming training reference signal design

ABSTRACT

In one example, an apparatus of an e-NodeB (eNB) capable to establish a communication connection with a user equipment (UE) in a communication network, the eNB comprising processing circuitry to transmit a downlink (DL) beamforming training reference signal (BF-TRS) to a user equipment (UE) using transmit beamforming weights that are the same. Other examples are also disclosed and claimed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 371 toInternational Application No. PCT/US2015/065341 filed Dec. 11, 2015,entitled BEAMFORMING TRAINING REFERENCE SIGNAL DESIGN which in turnclaims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/206,427, filed Aug. 18, 2015,entitled BEAMFORMING TRAINING REFERENCE SIGNAL DESIGN FOR 5G SYSTEM, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electroniccommunication. More particularly, aspects generally relate to abeamforming training reference design for use in communication systems.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems which utilize mid-band (e.g., 6 GHz to 30GHz) and high-band (e.g., over 30 GHz) frequency ranges may utilizebeamforming techniques to compensate for relatively large path lossincurred during transmission between an eNodeB (eNB) and one or moreuser equipment (UE). Accordingly, techniques for transmit beamformingmay find utility, e.g., in electronic communication systems forelectronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanyingfigures. The use of the same reference numbers in different figuresindicates similar or identical items.

FIGS. 1-2 are flowcharts illustrating operations in a method toimplement transmit beam forming in a communication system in accordancewith various examples discussed herein.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a downlink beamforming trainingreference signal in a communication system in accordance with variousexamples discussed herein.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic illustrations of sub-band structures whichmay be used in a method to implement transmit beam forming in acommunication system in accordance with various examples discussedherein.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic illustrations of transmission patterns fora beamforming training reference signal in a communication system inaccordance with various examples discussed herein.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic illustrations of transmission patterns fora beamforming training reference signal in a communication system inaccordance with various examples discussed herein.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating timing of an uplink beamformingtraining reference signal transmissions in a communication system inaccordance with various examples discussed herein.

FIGS. 8A-8B are diagrams illustrating timing of an uplink beamformingtraining reference signal transmissions in a communication system inaccordance with various examples discussed herein.

FIG. 9 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of a wireless networkin accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of a 3GPP LTE networkin accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are schematic, block diagram illustrations,respectively, of radio interface protocol structures between a UE and aneNodeB based on a 3GPP-type radio access network standard in accordancewith one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of aninformation-handling system in accordance with one or more exemplaryembodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of theinformation-handling system of FIG. 13 that optionally may include atouch screen in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosedherein.

FIG. 15 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of components of arepresentative UE in accordance with one or more exemplary embodimentsdisclosed herein.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity ofillustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarilybeen drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elementsmay be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, ifconsidered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thefigures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various examples. However,various examples may be practiced without the specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits havenot been described in detail so as not to obscure the particularexamples. Further, various aspects of examples may be performed usingvarious means, such as integrated semiconductor circuits (“hardware”),computer-readable instructions organized into one or more programs(“software”), or some combination of hardware and software. For thepurposes of this disclosure reference to “logic” shall mean eitherhardware, software, or some combination thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “inan embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Additionally, the word“exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not tobe construed as necessarily preferred or advantageous over otherembodiments.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations inturn and in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimedsubject matter. The order of description, however, should not beconstrued as to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in theorder of presentation. Operations described may be performed in adifferent order than the described embodiment. Various additionaloperations may be performed and/or described operations may be omittedin additional embodiments.

As described in brief above, techniques for transmit beamforming mayfind utility, e.g., in wireless communication systems for electronicdevices. Subject matter described herein provides techniques toimplement transmit beamforming for transmissions between an eNB and oneor more UE. More particularly, described herein are design features fordownlink (DL) beamforming training reference signal (BF-TRS), designfeatures for uplink (UL) BF-TRS, and various mechanisms to trigger atransmission of the BF-TRS from either an eNB or a UE. Additionalfeatures and characteristics these techniques and communication systemsin which the techniques may be incorporated are described below withreference to FIGS. 1-15.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating operations in a method to implementDL transmit beamforming in a communication system in accordance withvarious examples discussed herein. Referring to FIG. 1, at operation 110an eNB transmits a DL BF-TRS to a UE by employing UE-specifictransmission weights. In order to enable UE Rx beamforming training, apredetermined beamforming pattern or UE assumption may be utilized. Inone example, Tx beamforming patterns for the transmission DL BF-TRS maybe repeated periodically (e.g., every X milliseconds), where X can bepredefined in a specification or configured by higher layers of acommunication network via UE-specific dedicated radio resource control(RRC) signalling from a primary cell (PCell). In this case, a UE mayperform receive beam scanning on the PSS and/or BRS positions with thesame Tx beamforming weights. In one example, the DL BF-TRS can betransmitted in either one or a in a plurality of subframes. This may beappropriate for the scenario when BF-TRS is transmitted in a periodicmanner.

At operation 115 the UE performs receive beam training which, atoperation 120, determines one or more suitable beamforming patterns forTx beamforming from the eNB. In some examples the UE identifies thebeamforming pattern(s) which provides the strongest reception as thebest eNB Tx beam. The one or more suitable Tx beamforming patterns,including the best beamforming pattern(s), are transmitted from the UEto the eNB. Depending on the beamforming pattern applied for the Tx ofDL-BF-TRS, it may be up to UE implementation to determine the best eNBTx and UE receive beam pair to maximize the receive power. Further, theUE may report the best eNodeB Tx beam index (or indexes) via PRACH or inthe PUSCH transmission in the RACH procedure. At operation 125 the eNBreceives the suitable beamforming pattern(s) from the UE. The eNB mayuse one or more of the beamforming patterns received from the UE insubsequent transmissions to the UE. In some examples, e.g., when the eNBuses the same Tx beam to transmit DL BF-TRS, operation 125 may not berequired.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating operations in a method to implementDL transmit beamforming in a communication system in accordance withvarious examples discussed herein. Referring to FIG. 2, at operation 210the UE initiates a transmission of the Tx beamformed PRACH. In someexamples the UE transmits the UL BF-TRS using different beamformingweights. At operation 215, the eNB performs receive beam training which,at operation 220, determines one or more suitable beamforming patternsfor Tx beamforming from the UE. The eNB transmits the beam index (orindices) associated with the suitable beams using the xPDCCH, ordedicated RRC signaling. In a single frequency network type ofoperation, one eNB may feedback multiple suitable Tx beams from multipleeNBs. The UE may use one or more of the beamforming patterns receivedfrom the eNB in subsequent transmissions to the eNB.

In some examples, in order to reduce the amount of overhead consumed bybeamforming training, the BF-TRS may be transmitted in a number (X)symbols, where X can be predefined or configured by higher protocollayers via a 5G master information block (xMIB), a 5G system informationblock (xSIB) or UE-specific RRC signaling. In one example, X=2 and theBF-TRS is transmitted in the last two symbols within one subframe. FIG.3 illustrates one example of DL BF-TRS transmission position. In otherexamples the DL BF-TRS can be transmitted in the first X symbols withinone subframe.

In some examples an interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) signal structure may beused to generate a DL BF-TRS signal. In particular, BF-TRS symbols aremapped in every K subcarrier(s) in the frequency domain, while theremaining subcarriers are set to zero. This IFDMA structure with aRepetition Factor (RPF) of K would create K repeated blocks in the timedomain. It may be useful to define K=2^(N) in order to keep the same orinteger number of sampling rate, where N>1 is an integer.

In one example, when K=2, BF-TRS symbols are mapped to every evensubcarrier, which creates two repeated blocks in the time domain.

Within one or fractional symbol duration, system bandwidth may bedivided into a number (L) sub-bands. Each sub-band may be used for oneTx beamformed BF-TRS transmission. The number of sub-bands may depend onthe eNB architecture and can be predefined or configured by higherlayers via xMIB, xSIB or UE specific dedicated RRC signaling either froma Pcell or a serving cell eNB. Each sub-band may be allocated for eachUE for Rx beamforming training. The resource allocation configurationfor each UE can be signaled in dedicated RRC signaling or indicated inDCI format for DL assignment.

Alternatively, an eNB may transmit the DL BF-TRS in the same physicalresource block (PRB) that is also used for the transmission of a 5Gphysical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH) in the case when BF-TRS istriggered by xPDCCH.

FIG. 4 illustrates the Tx beamformed sub-band structure for a BF-TRStransmission when L=4. In the figure, both localized and distributedtransmission schemes can be used for the transmission of BF-TRS signal.In the example depicted in FIG. 4, Tx beamformed sub-band #1 and #2 maybe allocated for UE #1 and #2, respectively.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrate the BF-TRS patterns for distributed andlocalized transmission of BF-TRS patterns, respectively. For bothtransmission modes, the gap between two BF-TRS symbols is K subcarriers.Further, for BF-TRS across multiple subframes, the resource used for thetransmission of BF-TRS may follow a scattered pattern (as shown in FIG.6 A) and may be same in the frequency (as shown in FIG. 6B)

In some examples the DL BF-TRS sequence r_(l,n) _(s) (m) is defined by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{r_{l,n_{s}}(m)} = {{\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {2m} \right)}}} \right)} + {j\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {{2m} + 1} \right)}}} \right)}}},{m = 0},1,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N_{Max} - 1}} & {{EQ}\mspace{14mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

where n_(s) can be a slot number or a subframe number within a radioframe and is the OFDM symbol number within the slot or the subframe,respectively. One example of a pseudo-random sequence c(i) is defined inSection 7.2 [1] of the LTE specification.

In one example, the pseudo-random sequence generator may be initializedas a function of slot/subframe number and/or the OFDM symbol numberand/or physical cell ID or virtual physical cell ID and/or indication ofnormal cyclic prefix (CP) and extended CP.

In one example, the same design for the generation of channel stateinformation-reference signal (CSI-RS) can be reused for the generationof BF-TRS sequence, i.e., the pseudo-random sequence generator shall beinitialized withc _(init)=2¹⁰·(7·(n _(s)+1)+l+1)·(2·n _(ID)+1)+2·n _(ID) +N _(CP)  EQ: 2

at the start of each OFDM symbol where

$N_{CP} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}1 & {{for}\mspace{14mu}{normal}\mspace{14mu}{CP}} \\0 & {{for}\mspace{14mu}{extended}\mspace{14mu}{CP}}\end{matrix} \right.$

The quantity n_(ID) equals N_(ID) ^(cell) unless configured by higherprotocol layers.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of UL BF-TRS transmission. Similar to theDL BF-TRS, an UL BF-TRS may be transmitted in X symbols within onesubframe or transmitted in one or a plurality of subframes. In theexample depicted in FIG. 7, the UL BF-TRS is transmitted in the last twosymbols of one subframe following 5G physical uplink shared channel(xPUSCH). Further, a number (M) UEs are multiplexed in a frequencydivision multiplexing (FDM) manner. Additionally, the UE performs Txbeamforming sweep on a number (N) BF-TRS blocks based on IFDMA structureas described above.

Alternatively, the UL BF-TRS may be transmitted in the same PRB as usedfor the transmission of xPUSCH for one UE.

The design principle for the generation of DL BF-TRS can also be appliedfor the generation of the UL BF-TRS. In some examples, an IFDMAstructure can be employed for the UL BF-TRS.

Further, the UL BF-TRS sequence can be defined similar to UL BF-TRS. Insome examples the pseudo-random sequence generator may be initialized asa function of slot/subframe number and/or OFDM symbol number and/orphysical cell ID or virtual physical cell ID and/or indication of normalcyclic prefix (CP) and extended CP.

In addition, the pseudo-random sequence generator may be defined as afunction of Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) and/or theDemodulation reference symbol (DM-RS) index used for the transmission ofxPUSCH.

One or more implementations may be used to trigger the transmission ofBF-TRS. In a first example, a BF-TRS can be triggered in an aperiodicmanner. For example, the BF-TRS can be triggered by a 5G physicaldownlink control channel (xPDCCH). Further, one field in the DCI formatfor DL assignment can be used for BF-TRS triggering, e.g., a bit “1”indicates B-TRS is transmitted while a bit “0” indicates BF-TRS is nottransmitted.

For the transmission of DL BF-TRS, given that UE may need to takecertain amount of processing time to decode xPDCCH, the UE may not knowwhether the DL BF-TRS is transmitted or when to start Rx beamformingscanning until the xPDCCH is successfully decoded. To address thisissue, a certain subframe gap may be inserted between the xPDCCH and thetransmission of DL BF-TRS, which would take into account the xPDCCHprocessing time. More specifically, an xPDCCH in subframe n can be usedto schedule the transmission of DL BF-TRS in subframe n+K0, where K0 canbe predefined in the specification or can be configured by the higherlayers via xMIB, xSIB or UE specific dedicated RRC signalling.

To avoid xPDCCH misdetection, the eNB may transmit the DL BF TRS afterthe ACK or NACK feedback. Then the DL BF-TRS may be transmitted insubframe n′+K0, where n′ is the UL subframe when ACK or NACK is forsubframe n is transmitted. Unless detecting the DTX, the eNodeB maytransmit the DL BF TRS at the corresponding subframes.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of the transmission timing of the DLBF-TRS triggered by xPDCCH. In this example, the subframe gap betweenxPDCCH and BF-TRS is 3, i.e., K0=3.

The same design principle can be applied for the triggering of UL BF-TRSby xPDCCH. UL BF-TRS can be transmitted K1 subframes after the xPDCCH.Similarly, K1 can be predefined in the specification or can beconfigured by the higher layers via xMIB, xSIB or UE specific dedicatedRRC signalling. FIG. 8 illustrates one example of the transmissiontiming of the UL BF-TRS triggered by xPDCCH. In this example, thesubframe gap between xPDCCH and BF-TRS is 4, i.e., K1=4.

Alternatively the UL BF-TRS may be enabled in some HARQ processes andfor the others the UL BF-TRS may be disabled. The HARQ process IDswherein UL BF-TRS is enabled may be configured via RRC signaling or maybe predefined in the system. For example, for HARQ process 0, UL BF-TRSmay be always transmitted.

In another embodiment of the invention, DL and UL BF-TRS can betransmitted in a periodic manner. More specifically, the subframes forthe transmission of DL and UL BF-TRS are defined as the downlinksubframes or special subframes in TDD system satisfying

$\begin{matrix}{{\left( {{10 \times n_{f}} + \left\lbrack \frac{n_{S}}{2} \right\rbrack - N_{{OFFSET},{TRS}}} \right){mod}\mspace{11mu}{TRS}_{PERIODICITY}} = 0} & {{EQ}\mspace{14mu} 3}\end{matrix}$

where n_(f) and n_(s) are radio frame number and slot number;N_(OFFSET,TRS) and TRS_(PERIODICITY) are the subframe offset andperiodicity of the BF-TRS transmission.

For instance, N_(OFFSET, TRS) and TRS_(PERIODICITY) are defined by theparameter I_(TRS), which is given in the Table 1. Note that other valuesof I_(TRS), N_(OFFSET, TRS) and TRS_(PERIODICITY) can be extended fromthe examples as shown in the Table 1. Further, a configuration index canbe predefined or configured by higher layers via xMIB, xSIB or dedicatedRRC signaling. In addition, DL and UL BF-TRS may be configuredindependently.

TABLE 1 Periodicity and Subframe Offset Configuration for BF-TRSPeriodicity Subframe offset Configuration Index I_(TRS)TRS_(PERIODICITY) (ms) N_(OFFSET,TRS) 0-4 5 I_(TRS)  5-14 10 I_(TRS)-5 15-34 20 I_(TRS)-15 35-74 40 I_(TRS)-35  75-154 80 I_(TRS)-75

FIG. 9 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of a wireless network900 in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosedherein. One or more of the elements of wireless network 900 may becapable of implementing methods to identify victims and aggressorsaccording to the subject matter disclosed herein. As shown in FIG. 9,network 900 may be an Internet-Protocol-type (IP-type) networkcomprising an Internet-type network 910, or the like, that is capable ofsupporting mobile wireless access and/or fixed wireless access toInternet 910.

In one or more examples, network 900 may operate in compliance with aWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standard orfuture generations of WiMAX, and in one particular example may be incompliance with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers802.16-based standard (for example, IEEE 802.16e), or an IEEE802.11-based standard (for example, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standard), and soon. In one or more alternative examples, network 900 may be incompliance with a 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution(3GPP LTE), a 3GPP2 Air Interface Evolution (3GPP2 AIE) standard and/ora 3GPP LTE-Advanced standard. In general, network 900 may comprise anytype of orthogonal-frequency-division-multiple-access-based(OFDMA-based) wireless network, for example, a WiMAX compliant network,a Wi-Fi Alliance Compliant Network, a digital subscriber-line-type(DSL-type) network, an asymmetric-digital-subscriber-line-type(ADSL-type) network, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) compliant network, aWireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) compliant network, a 4th Generation(4G) type network, and so on, and the scope of the claimed subjectmatter is not limited in these respects.

As an example of mobile wireless access, access service network (ASN)912 is capable of coupling with base station (BS) 914 to providewireless communication between subscriber station (SS) 916 (alsoreferred to herein as a wireless terminal) and Internet 910. In oneexample, subscriber station 916 may comprise a mobile-type device orinformation-handling system capable of wirelessly communicating vianetwork 900, for example, a notebook-type computer, a cellulartelephone, a personal digital assistant, an M2M-type device, or thelike. In another example, subscriber station is capable of providing anuplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interferenceexperienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matterdisclosed herein. ASN 912 may implement profiles that are capable ofdefining the mapping of network functions to one or more physicalentities on network 900. Base station 914 may comprise radio equipmentto provide radio-frequency (RF) communication with subscriber station916, and may comprise, for example, the physical layer (PHY) and mediaaccess control (MAC) layer equipment in compliance with an IEEE802.16e-type standard. Base station 914 may further comprise an IPbackplane to couple to Internet 910 via ASN 912, although the scope ofthe claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Network 900 may further comprise a visited connectivity service network(CSN) 924 capable of providing one or more network functions including,but not limited to, proxy and/or relay type functions, for example,authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) functions, dynamichost configuration protocol (DHCP) functions, or domain-name servicecontrols or the like, domain gateways, such as public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) gateways or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways,and/or Internet-Protocol-type (IP-type) server functions, or the like.These are, however, merely example of the types of functions that arecapable of being provided by visited CSN or home CSN 926, and the scopeof the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Visited CSN 924 may be referred to as a visited CSN in the case, forexample, in which visited CSN 924 is not part of the regular serviceprovider of subscriber station 916, for example, in which subscriberstation 916 is roaming away from its home CSN, such as home CSN 926, or,for example, in which network 900 is part of the regular serviceprovider of subscriber station, but in which network 900 may be inanother location or state that is not the main or home location ofsubscriber station 916.

In a fixed wireless arrangement, WiMAX-type customer premises equipment(CPE) 922 may be located in a home or business to provide home orbusiness customer broadband access to Internet 910 via base station 920,ASN 918, and home CSN 926 in a manner similar to access by subscriberstation 916 via base station 914, ASN 912, and visited CSN 924, adifference being that WiMAX CPE 922 is generally disposed in astationary location, although it may be moved to different locations asneeded, whereas subscriber station may be utilized at one or morelocations if subscriber station 916 is within range of base station 914for example.

It should be noted that CPE 922 need not necessarily comprise aWiMAX-type terminal, and may comprise other types of terminals ordevices compliant with one or more standards or protocols, for example,as discussed herein, and in general may comprise a fixed or a mobiledevice. Moreover, in one exemplary embodiment, CPE 922 is capable ofproviding an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reducesinterference experienced at other wireless devices according to thesubject matter disclosed herein.

In accordance with one or more examples, operation support system (OSS)928 may be part of network 900 to provide management functions fornetwork 900 and to provide interfaces between functional entities ofnetwork 900. Network 900 of FIG. 9 is merely one type of wirelessnetwork showing a certain number of the components of network 900;however, the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in theserespects.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary block diagram of the overall architecture ofa 3GPP LTE network 1000 that includes one or more devices that arecapable of implementing methods to identify victims and aggressorsaccording to the subject matter disclosed herein. FIG. 10 also generallyshows exemplary network elements and exemplary standardized interfaces.At a high level, network 1000 comprises a core network (CN) 1001 (alsoreferred to as an evolved Packet System (EPC)), and an air-interfaceaccess network E UTRAN 1002. CN 1001 is responsible for the overallcontrol of the various User Equipment (UE) connected to the network andestablishment of the bearers. CN 1001 may include functional entities,such as a home agent and/or an ANDSF server or entity, although notexplicitly depicted. E UTRAN 1002 is responsible for all radio-relatedfunctions.

The main exemplary logical nodes of CN 1001 include, but are not limitedto, a Serving GPRS Support Node 1003, the Mobility Management Entity1004, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 1005, a Serving Gate (SGW) 1006, aPDN Gateway 1007 and a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) Manager1008. The functionality of each of the network elements of CN 1001 iswell known and is not described herein. Each of the network elements ofCN 1001 are interconnected by well-known exemplary standardizedinterfaces, some of which are indicated in FIG. 10, such as interfacesS3, S4, S5, etc., although not described herein.

While CN 1001 includes many logical nodes, the E UTRAN access network1002 is formed by at least one node, such as evolved NodeB (base station(BS), eNB or eNodeB) 1010, which connects to one or more User Equipment(UE) 1011, of which only one is depicted in FIG. 10. UE 1011 is alsoreferred to herein as a wireless device (WD) and/or a subscriber station(SS), and can include an M2M-type device. In one EXAMPLE, UE 1011 iscapable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique thatreduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according tothe subject matter disclosed herein. In one exemplary configuration, asingle cell of an E UTRAN access network 1002 provides one substantiallylocalized geographical transmission point (having multiple antennadevices) that provides access to one or more UEs. In another exemplaryconfiguration, a single cell of an E UTRAN access network 1002 providesmultiple geographically substantially isolated transmission points (eachhaving one or more antenna devices) with each transmission pointproviding access to one or more UEs simultaneously and with thesignaling bits defined for the one cell so that all UEs share the samespatial signaling dimensioning. For normal user traffic (as opposed tobroadcast), there is no centralized controller in E-UTRAN; hence theE-UTRAN architecture is said to be flat. The eNBs are normallyinterconnected with each other by an interface known as “X2” and to theEPC by an Si interface. More specifically, an eNB is connected to MME1004 by an Si MME interface and to SGW 1006 by an Si U interface. Theprotocols that run between the eNBs and the UEs are generally referredto as the “AS protocols.” Details of the various interfaces are wellknown and not described herein.

The eNB 1010 hosts the PHYsical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC),Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Control Protocol (PDCP)layers, which are not shown in FIG. 10, and which include thefunctionality of user-plane header-compression and encryption. The eNB1010 also provides Radio Resource Control (RRC) functionalitycorresponding to the control plane, and performs many functionsincluding radio resource management, admission control, scheduling,enforcement of negotiated Up Link (UL) QoS, cell information broadcast,ciphering/deciphering of user and control plane data, andcompression/decompression of DL/UL user plane packet headers.

The RRC layer in eNB 1010 covers all functions related to the radiobearers, such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, radiomobility control, scheduling and dynamic allocation of resources to UEsin both uplink and downlink, header compression for efficient use of theradio interface, security of all data sent over the radio interface, andconnectivity to the EPC. The RRC layer makes handover decisions based onneighbor cell measurements sent by UE 1011, generates pages for UEs 1011over the air, broadcasts system information, controls UE measurementreporting, such as the periodicity of Channel Quality Information (CQI)reports, and allocates cell-level temporary identifiers to active UEs1011. The RRC layer also executes transfer of UE context from a sourceeNB to a target eNB during handover, and provides integrity protectionfor RRC messages. Additionally, the RRC layer is responsible for thesetting up and maintenance of radio bearers.

FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively depict exemplary radio interface protocolstructures between a UE and an eNodeB that are based on a 3GPP-typeradio access network standard and that is capable of providing anuplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interferenceexperienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matterdisclosed herein. More specifically, FIG. 11 depicts individual layersof a radio protocol control plane and FIG. 12 depicts individual layersof a radio protocol user plane. The protocol layers of FIGS. 11 and 12can be classified into an L1 layer (first layer), an L2 layer (secondlayer) and an L3 layer (third layer) on the basis of the lower threelayers of the OSI reference model widely known in communication systems.

The physical (PHY) layer, which is the first layer (L1), provides aninformation transfer service to an upper layer using a physical channel.The physical layer is connected to a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer,which is located above the physical layer, through a transport channel.Data is transferred between the MAC layer and the PHY layer through thetransport channel. A transport channel is classified into a dedicatedtransport channel and a common transport channel according to whether ornot the channel is shared. Data transfer between different physicallayers, specifically between the respective physical layers of atransmitter and a receiver is performed through the physical channel.

A variety of layers exist in the second layer (L2 layer). For example,the MAC layer maps various logical channels to various transportchannels, and performs logical-channel multiplexing for mapping variouslogical channels to one transport channel. The MAC layer is connected tothe Radio Link Control (RLC) layer serving as an upper layer through alogical channel. The logical channel can be classified into a controlchannel for transmitting information of a control plane and a trafficchannel for transmitting information of a user plane according tocategories of transmission information.

The RLC layer of the second layer (L2) performs segmentation andconcatenation on data received from an upper layer, and adjusts the sizeof data to be suitable for a lower layer transmitting data to a radiointerval. In order to guarantee various Qualities of Service (QoSs)requested by respective radio bearers (RBs), three operation modes,i.e., a Transparent Mode (TM), an Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and anAcknowledged Mode (AM), are provided. Specifically, an AM RLC performs aretransmission function using an Automatic Repeat and Request (ARQ)function so as to implement reliable data transmission.

A Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer of the second layer (L2)performs a header compression function to reduce the size of an IPpacket header having relatively large and unnecessary controlinformation in order to efficiently transmit IP packets, such as IPv4 orIPv6 packets, in a radio interval with a narrow bandwidth. As a result,only information required for a header part of data can be transmitted,so that transmission efficiency of the radio interval can be increased.In addition, in an LTE-based system, the PDCP layer performs a securityfunction that includes a ciphering function for preventing a third partyfrom eavesdropping on data and an integrity protection function forpreventing a third party from handling data.

A Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer located at the top of the thirdlayer (L3) is defined only in the control plane and is responsible forcontrol of logical, transport, and physical channels in association withconfiguration, re-configuration and release of Radio Bearers (RBs). TheRB is a logical path that the first and second layers (L1 and L2)provide for data communication between the UE and the UTRAN. Generally,Radio Bearer (RB) configuration means that a radio protocol layer neededfor providing a specific service, and channel characteristics aredefined and their detailed parameters and operation methods areconfigured. The Radio Bearer (RB) is classified into a Signaling RB(SRB) and a Data RB (DRB). The SRB is used as a transmission passage ofRRC messages in the C plane, and the DRB is used as a transmissionpassage of user data in the U plane.

A downlink transport channel for transmitting data from the network tothe UE may be classified into a Broadcast Channel (BCH) for transmittingsystem information and a downlink Shared Channel (SCH) for transmittinguser traffic or control messages. Traffic or control messages of adownlink multicast or broadcast service may be transmitted through adownlink SCH and may also be transmitted through a downlink multicastchannel (MCH). Uplink transport channels for transmission of data fromthe UE to the network include a Random Access Channel (RACH) fortransmission of initial control messages and an uplink SCH fortransmission of user traffic or control messages.

Downlink physical channels for transmitting information transferred to adownlink transport channel to a radio interval between the UE and thenetwork are classified into a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) fortransmitting BCH information, a Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH) fortransmitting MCH information, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)for transmitting downlink SCH information, and a Physical DownlinkControl Channel (PDCCH) (also called a DL L1/L2 control channel) fortransmitting control information, such as DL/UL Scheduling Grantinformation, received from first and second layers (L1 and L2). In themeantime, uplink physical channels for transmitting informationtransferred to an uplink transport channel to a radio interval betweenthe UE and the network are classified into a Physical Uplink SharedChannel (PUSCH) for transmitting uplink SCH information, a PhysicalRandom Access Channel for transmitting RACH information, and a PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH) for transmitting control information,such as Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) ACK or NACK SchedulingRequest (SR) and Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report information,received from first and second layers (L1 and L2).

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary functional block diagram of aninformation-handling system 1300 that is capable of implementing methodsto identify victims and aggressors according to the subject matterdisclosed herein. Information handling system 1300 of FIG. 13 maytangibly embody one or more of any of the exemplary devices, exemplarynetwork elements and/or functional entities of the network as shown inand described herein. In one example, information-handling system 1300may represent eNB 1010, and/or UE 1011, with greater or fewer componentsdepending on the hardware specifications of the particular device ornetwork element. In another example, information-handling system mayprovide M2M-type device capability. Although information-handling system1300 represents one example of several types of computing platforms,information-handling system 1300 may include more or fewer elementsand/or different arrangements of elements than shown in FIG. 11, and thescope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

In one or more examples, information-handling system 1300 may compriseone or more applications processor 1310 and a baseband processor 1312.Applications processor 1310 may be utilized as a general purposeprocessor to run applications and the various subsystems for informationhandling system 1300, and to capable of providing anuplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interferenceexperienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matterdisclosed herein. Applications processor 1310 may include a single coreor alternatively may include multiple processing cores wherein one ormore of the cores may comprise a digital signal processor or digitalsignal processing core. Furthermore, applications processor 1310 mayinclude a graphics processor or coprocessor disposed on the same chip,or alternatively a graphics processor coupled to applications processor1310 may comprise a separate, discrete graphics chip. Applicationsprocessor 1310 may include on-board memory, such as cache memory, andfurther may be coupled to external memory devices such as synchronousdynamic random access memory (SDRAM) 1314 for storing and/or executingapplications, such as capable of providing an uplink-transmit-powercontrol technique that reduces interference experienced at otherwireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein.During operation, and NAND flash 1316 for storing applications and/ordata even when information handling system 1300 is powered off.

In one example, a list of candidate nodes may be stored in SDRAM 1314and/or NAND flash 1316. Further, applications processor 1310 may executecomputer-readable instructions stored in SDRAM 1314 and/or NAND flash1316 that result in an uplink-transmit-power control technique thatreduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according tothe subject matter disclosed herein.

In one example, baseband processor 1312 may control the broadband radiofunctions for information-handling system 1300. Baseband processor 1312may store code for controlling such broadband radio functions in a NORflash 1318. Baseband processor 1312 controls a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN) transceiver 1320 which is used for modulating and/ordemodulating broadband network signals, for example, for communicatingvia a 3GPP LTE network or the like as discussed herein with respect toFIG. 13. The WWAN transceiver 1320 couples to one or more poweramplifiers 1322 that are respectively coupled to one or more antennas1324 for sending and receiving radio-frequency signals via the WWANbroadband network. The baseband processor 1312 also may control awireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 1326 coupled to one ormore suitable antennas 1328 and that may be capable of communicating viaa Bluetooth-based standard, an IEEE 802.11-based standard, an IEEE802.16-based standard, an IEEE 802.18-based wireless network standard, a3GPP-based protocol wireless network, a Third Generation PartnershipProject Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) based wireless network standard,a 3GPP2 Air Interface Evolution (3GPP2 AIE) based wireless networkstandard, a 3GPP-LTE-Advanced-based wireless network, a UMTS-basedprotocol wireless network, a CDMA2000-based protocol wireless network, aGSM-based protocol wireless network, acellular-digital-packet-data-based (CDPD-based) protocol wirelessnetwork, a Mobitex-based protocol wireless network, aNear-Field-Communications-based (NFC-based) link, a WiGig-based network,a ZigBee-based network, or the like. It should be noted that these aremerely exemplary implementations for applications processor 1310 andbaseband processor 1312, and the scope of the claimed subject matter isnot limited in these respects. For example, any one or more of SDRAM1314, NAND flash 1316 and/or NOR flash 1318 may comprise other types ofmemory technology, such as magnetic-based memory, chalcogenide-basedmemory, phase-change-based memory, optical-based memory, or ovonic-basedmemory, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited inthis respect.

In one or more embodiments, applications processor 1310 may drive adisplay 1330 for displaying various information or data, and may furtherreceive touch input from a user via a touch screen 1332, for example,via a finger or a stylus. In one exemplary embodiment, screen 1332display a menu and/or options to a user that are selectable via a fingerand/or a stylus for entering information into information-handlingsystem 1300.

An ambient light sensor 1334 may be utilized to detect an amount ofambient light in which information-handling system 1300 is operating,for example, to control a brightness or contrast value for display 1330as a function of the intensity of ambient light detected by ambientlight sensor 1334. One or more cameras 1336 may be utilized to captureimages that are processed by applications processor 1310 and/or at leasttemporarily stored in NAND flash 1316. Furthermore, applicationsprocessor may be coupled to a gyroscope 1338, accelerometer 1340,magnetometer 1342, audio coder/decoder (CODEC) 1344, and/or globalpositioning system (GPS) controller 1346 coupled to an appropriate GPSantenna 1348, for detection of various environmental propertiesincluding location, movement, and/or orientation of information-handlingsystem 1300. Alternatively, controller 1346 may comprise a GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS) controller. Audio CODEC 1344 may becoupled to one or more audio ports 1350 to provide microphone input andspeaker outputs either via internal devices and/or via external devicescoupled to information-handling system via the audio ports 1350, forexample, via a headphone and microphone jack. In addition, applicationsprocessor 1310 may couple to one or more input/output (I/O) transceivers1352 to couple to one or more I/O ports 1354 such as a universal serialbus (USB) port, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, aserial port, and so on. Furthermore, one or more of the I/O transceivers1352 may couple to one or more memory slots 1356 for optional removablememory, such as secure digital (SD) card or a subscriber identity module(SIM) card, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is notlimited in these respects.

FIG. 14 depicts an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of theinformation-handling system of FIG. 13 that optionally may include atouch screen in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosedherein. FIG. 14 shows an example implementation of information-handlingsystem 1300 of FIG. 13 tangibly embodied as a cellular telephone,smartphone, smart-type device, or tablet-type device or the like, thatis capable of implementing methods to identify victims and aggressorsaccording to the subject matter disclosed herein. In one or moreembodiments, the information-handling system 1300 may comprise any oneof the infrastructure nodes, wireless device 400, subscriber station916, CPE 922, mobile station UE 1311 of FIG. 13, and/or an M2M-typedevice, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limitedin this respect. The information-handling system 1300 may comprise ahousing 1410 having a display 1330 that may include a touch screen 1332for receiving tactile input control and commands via a finger 1416 of auser and/or a via stylus 1418 to control one or more applicationsprocessors 1310. The housing 1410 may house one or more components ofinformation-handling system 1300, for example, one or more applicationsprocessors 1310, one or more of SDRAM 1314, NAND flash 1316, NOR flash1318, baseband processor 1312, and/or WWAN transceiver 1320. Theinformation-handling system 1300 further may optionally include aphysical actuator area 1420 which may comprise a keyboard or buttons forcontrolling information-handling system 1300 via one or more buttons orswitches. The information-handling system 1300 may also include a memoryport or slot 1356 for receiving non-volatile memory, such as flashmemory, for example, in the form of a secure digital (SD) card or asubscriber identity module (SIM) card. Optionally, theinformation-handling system 1300 may further include one or morespeakers and/or microphones 1424 and a connection port 1354 forconnecting the information-handling system 1300 to another electronicdevice, dock, display, battery charger, and so on. Additionally,information-handling system 1300 may include a headphone or speaker jack1428 and one or more cameras 1336 on one or more sides of the housing1410. It should be noted that the information-handling system 1300 ofFIGS. 13 and 14 may include more or fewer elements than shown, invarious arrangements, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is notlimited in this respect.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory(shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablehardware components that provide the described functionality. In someembodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functionsassociated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or moresoftware or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may includelogic, at least partially operable in hardware.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using anysuitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 15 illustrates, forone embodiment, example components of a User Equipment (UE) device 1500.In some embodiments, the UE device 1500 may include applicationcircuitry 1502, baseband circuitry 1504, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry1506, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1508 and one or more antennas1510, coupled together at least as shown.

The application circuitry 1502 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 1502 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsand/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 1504 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 1504 may include one or more baseband processorsand/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receivesignal path of the RF circuitry 1506 and to generate baseband signalsfor a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1506. Baseband processingcircuitry 1504 may interface with the application circuitry 1502 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 1506. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 1504 may include a second generation (2G)baseband processor 1504 a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 1504b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1504 c, and/or otherbaseband processor(s) 1504 d for other existing generations, generationsin development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation(5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 1504 (e.g., one or more ofbaseband processors 1504 a-d) may handle various radio control functionsthat enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RFcircuitry 1506. The radio control functions may include, but are notlimited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 1504 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 1504 may include convolution, tail-bitingconvolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC)encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulationand encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples andmay include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1504 may include elements ofa protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universalterrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, forexample, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control(RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resourcecontrol (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 1504 e of thebaseband circuitry 1504 may be configured to run elements of theprotocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRClayers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one ormore audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1504 f The audio DSP(s)1504 f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echocancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in otherembodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitablycombined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a samecircuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all ofthe constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1504 and theapplication circuitry 1502 may be implemented together such as, forexample, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1504 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1504 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), awireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network(WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1504 is configuredto support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol maybe referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 1506 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 1506 may include switches,filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with thewireless network. RF circuitry 1506 may include a receive signal pathwhich may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from theFEM circuitry 1508 and provide baseband signals to the basebandcircuitry 1504. RF circuitry 1506 may also include a transmit signalpath which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals providedby the baseband circuitry 1504 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 1508 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1506 may include a receive signalpath and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RFcircuitry 1506 may include mixer circuitry 1506 a, amplifier circuitry1506 b and filter circuitry 1506 c. The transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 1506 may include filter circuitry 1506 c and mixer circuitry1506 a. RF circuitry 1506 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1506 dfor synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1506 a ofthe receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the receive signal path maybe configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry1508 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizercircuitry 1506 d. The amplifier circuitry 1506 b may be configured toamplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1506 c maybe a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured toremove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generateoutput baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to thebaseband circuitry 1504 for further processing. In some embodiments, theoutput baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, althoughthis is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1506 aof the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1506 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1508. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1504 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 1506 c. The filter circuitry 1506 c mayinclude a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodimentsis not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the receive signal path and the mixercircuitry 1506 a of the transmit signal path may include two or moremixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley imagerejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1506 a of thereceive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1506 a may be arranged fordirect downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 1506 a of the transmit signal path may be configuredfor super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 1506 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry1504 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 1506.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1506 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 1506 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 1506 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1506 a of the RFcircuitry 1506 based on a frequency input and a divider control input.In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1506 d may be afractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1504 orthe applications processor 1502 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 1502.

Synthesizer circuitry 1506 d of the RF circuitry 1506 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1506 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 1506 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 1508 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 1510, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1506 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 1508 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 1506 for transmission by oneor more of the one or more antennas 1510.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1508 may include a TX/RX switchto switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noiseamplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplifiedreceived RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1506). Thetransmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1508 may include a poweramplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RFcircuitry 1506), and one or more filters to generate RF signals forsubsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or moreantennas 1510.

In some embodiments, the UE device 1500 may include additional elementssuch as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/orinput/output (I/O) interface.

The following pertains to further examples.

Example 1 is an apparatus of an e-NodeB (eNB) capable to establish acommunication connection with a user equipment (UE) in a communicationnetwork, the eNB comprising processing circuitry to transmit a downlink(DL) beamforming training reference signal (BF-TRS) to a user equipment(UE) using transmit beamforming weights that are the same.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally include anarrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is transmitted in one subframe or ina plurality of subframes.

In Example 3, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-2 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is transmittedin X symbols, where X is predefined or configured by higher layers via a5G master information block (xMIB), a 5G system information block(xSIB), or a UE specific RRC signaling.

In Example 4, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-3 canoptionally include an arrangement in which an interleaved FDMA (IFDMA)signal structure is used to generate the DL BF-TRS.

In Example 5, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-4 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the communication system hasa bandwidth which is divided into a number (L) sub-bands, and whereineach sub-band is used for one Tx beamformed BF-TRS transmission for asingle UE, the number (L) of sub-bands is predefined or configured byone or more higher protocol layers via an extended managementinformation block (xMIB), an extended system in formation block (xSIB)or UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling from aserving eNB, and a resource allocation configuration for the UE issignaled in dedicated RRC signaling or indicated in DCI format for DLassignment.

In Example 6, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-5 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is transmittedin a physical resource block (PRB) which is also used for thetransmission of a physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH) in the eventthat the BF-TRS is triggered by an xPDCCH.

In Example 7, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-6 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the BF-TRS patterns aretransmitted using at least one of a distributed transmission procedureor a localized transmission procedure, a number (K) subcarriers are usedto define a gap between adjacent BF-TRS symbols and K is predefined orconfigured by one or more higher protocol layers via an extendedmanagement information block (xMIB), an extended system in formationblock (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC)signaling from a serving eNB.

In Example 8, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-7 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS sequence isdefined by:

${{r_{l,n_{s}}(m)} = {{\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {2m} \right)}}} \right)} + {j\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {{2m} + 1} \right)}}} \right)}}},{m = 0},1,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N_{Max} - 1}$

where can be a number of a slot or a subframe within a radio frame andis an OFDM symbol number within the slot or the subframe.

In Example 9, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-8 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS sequence isgenerated in a pseudo-random sequence generator initialized as afunction of at least one of, a physical cell ID, a virtual physical cellID, an indication of a normal cyclic prefix (CP) and extended CP.

In Example 10, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-9 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is triggered inan aperiodic manner by a physical downlink control channel (xPDCCH).

In Example 11, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-10 canoptionally include an arrangement in which a predetermined subframe gapis inserted between the xPDCCH and the transmission of DL and/or ULBF-TRS, and the gap is predefined or configured by one or more higherprotocol layers via an extended management information block (xMIB), anextended system in formation block (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radioresource control (RRC) signaling from a serving eNB.

In Example 12, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-11 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is transmitteda number (K) subframes after ACK or NACK feedback from a UE, and thenumber K is predefined or configured by one or more higher protocollayers via an extended management information block (xMIB), an extendedsystem in formation block (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signaling from a serving eNB

In Example 13, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-12 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is enabled fora first Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process and is disabledfor a second HARQ process and the first HARQ process and the second HARQprocess is predefined or configured by one or more higher protocollayers via an extended management information block (xMIB), an extendedsystem in formation block (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signaling from a serving eNB.

In Example 14, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-13 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the DL BF-TRS is transmittedin a periodic manner in one or more subframes which are defined asdownlink in a time-division duplex (TDD) system satisfying thecondition:

${\left( {{10 \times n_{f}} + \left\lbrack \frac{n_{S}}{2} \right\rbrack - N_{{OFFSET},{TRS}}} \right){modTRS}_{PERIODICITY}} = 0$

where n_(f) and n_(s) are radio frame number and slot number;N_(OFFSET, TRS) and TRS_(PERIODITICTY) are the subframe offset andperiodicity of the BF-TRS transmission.

In Example 16, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-15 canoptionally include an arrangement in which N_(OFFSET, TRS) andTRS_(PERIODICITY) are defined by a parameter I_(TRS), which ispredefined or configured by one or more higher protocol layers via anextended management information block (xMIB), an extended system information block (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radio resource control(RRC) signaling from a serving eNB.

Example 17 is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) capable to establisha communication connection with an eNB, the UE comprising processingcircuitry to transmit an uplink (UL) beamforming training referencesignal (BF-TRS) to an eNB using transmit beamforming weights that aredifferent.

In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 can optionally includean arrangement in which the UL BF-TRS is transmitted in a number (X)symbols within one subframe or transmitted in one or a plurality ofsubframes.

In Example 19, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-18 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the UL BF-TRS is transmittedin a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner for multiple UEs.

In Example 20, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-19 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the UE performs a transmitbeamforming sweep on a number (N) BF-TRS repetition blocks based on anIFDMA structure.

In Example 21, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-19 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the UL BF-TRS is transmittedin a physical resource block (PRB) which is also used for thetransmission of a physical uplink control channel (xPUCCH) for the UE.

In Example 22, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-21 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the UL BF-TRS sequence isdefined by:

${{r_{l,n_{s}}(m)} = {{\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {2m} \right)}}} \right)} + {j\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {{2m} + 1} \right)}}} \right)}}},{m = 0},1,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N_{Max} - 1}$

where n_(s) can be a number of a slot or a subframe within a radio frameand l is an OFDM symbol number within the slot or the subframe.

In Example 23, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1-22 canoptionally include an arrangement in which the UL BF-TRS sequence isgenerated in a pseudo-random sequence generator initialized as afunction of at least one of, a physical cell ID, a virtual physical cellID, an indication of a normal cyclic prefix (CP) and extended CP, andthe pseudo-random sequence generator may be defined as a function of aCell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) and/or a Demodulationreference symbol (DM-RS) index used for the transmission of a physicaluplink shared control channel (xPUSCH)

In various examples, the operations discussed herein may be implementedas hardware (e.g., circuitry), software, firmware, microcode, orcombinations thereof, which may be provided as a computer programproduct, e.g., including a tangible (e.g., non-transitory)machine-readable or computer-readable medium having stored thereoninstructions (or software procedures) used to program a computer toperform a process discussed herein. Also, the term “logic” may include,by way of example, software, hardware, or combinations of software andhardware. The machine-readable medium may include a storage device suchas those discussed herein.

Reference in the specification to “one example” or “an example” meansthat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the example may be included in at least animplementation. The appearances of the phrase “in one example” invarious places in the specification may or may not be all referring tothe same example.

Also, in the description and claims, the terms “coupled” and“connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. In someexamples, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elementsare in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled”may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electricalcontact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elements maynot be in direct contact with each other, but may still cooperate orinteract with each other.

Thus, although examples have been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat claimed subject matter may not be limited to the specific featuresor acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosedas sample forms of implementing the claimed subject matter.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of an e-NodeB (eNB) capable toestablish a communication connection with a user equipment (UE) in a 5Gcommunication network, the eNB comprising processing circuitry to:generate a physical downlink control channel xPDCCH (5G PhysicalDownlink Control Channel) comprising a bit indicator which indicates totransmit a beamforming training reference signal (BF-TRS) to a userequipment (UE); in response to the xPDCCH, to calculate a subframe gapto be inserted between the xPDCCH and transmission of the BF-TRS; andtransmit, after the subframe gap, a downlink (DL) beamforming trainingreference signal (BF-TRS) to the user equipment (UE) using transmitbeamforming weights that are the same, wherein an interleaved FDMA(IFDMA) signal structure is used to generate the DL BF-TRS in which theDL BF-TRS symbols are mapped into every two (2) subcarriers in thefrequency domain, while remaining subcarriers are set to zero.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the DL BF-TRS is transmitted in onesubframe or in a plurality of subframes.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the DL BF-TRS is transmitted in X symbols, where X is predefinedor configured by higher layers via a 5G master information block (xMIB),a 5G system information block (xSIB), or a UE specific RRC signaling. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the communication system has abandwidth which is divided into a number (L) sub-bands, and wherein:each sub-band is used for one Tx beamformed BF-TRS transmission for asingle UE; the number (L) of sub-bands is predefined or configured byone or more higher protocol layers via an extended managementinformation block (xMIB), an extended system in formation block (xSIB)or UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling from aserving eNB; and a resource allocation configuration for the UE issignaled in dedicated RRC signaling or indicated in DCI format for DLassignment.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein DL BF-TRS istransmitted in a physical resource block (PRB) which is also used forthe transmission of a physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH) in theevent that the BF-TRS is triggered by an xPDCCH.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 3, wherein: BF-TRS patterns are transmitted using at least one ofa distributed transmission procedure or a localized transmissionprocedure; a number (K) subcarriers are used to define a gap betweenadjacent BF-TRS symbols; and K is predefined or configured by one ormore higher protocol layers via an extended management information block(xMIB), an extended system in formation block (xSIB) or UE-specificdedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a serving eNB. 7.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the DL BF-TRS sequence is defined by:${{r_{l,n_{s}}(m)} = {{\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {2m} \right)}}} \right)} + {j\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {{2m} + 1} \right)}}} \right)}}},{m = 0},1,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N_{Max} - 1}$where n_(s) can be a number of a slot or a subframe within a radio frameand l is an OFDM symbol number within the slot or the subframe.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the DL BF-TRS sequence is generated in apseudo-random sequence generator initialized as a function of at leastone of n_(s), a physical cell ID, a virtual physical cell ID, anindication of a normal cyclic prefix (CP) and extended CP.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the DL BF-TRS is triggered in an aperiodicmanner by a physical downlink control channel (xPDCCH).
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein: a predetermined subframe gap is insertedbetween the xPDCCH and the transmission of DL and/or UL BF-TRS; and thegap is predefined or configured by one or more higher protocol layersvia an extended management information block (xMIB), an extended systemin formation block (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signaling from a serving eNB.
 11. The apparatus of claim9, wherein: the DL BF-TRS is transmitted a number K′ subframes after ACKor NACK feedback from a UE; and the number K′ is predefined orconfigured by one or more higher protocol layers via an extendedmanagement information block (xMIB), an extended system in formationblock (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC)signaling from a serving eNB.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: theDL BF-TRS is enabled for a first Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)process and is disabled for a second HARQ process; and the first HARQprocess and the second HARQ process is predefined or configured by oneor more higher protocol layers via an extended management informationblock (xMIB), an extended system in formation block (xSIB) orUE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling from aserving eNB.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DL BF-TRS istransmitted in a periodic manner.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe DL BF-TRS is transmitted in one or more subframes which are definedas downlink in a time-division duplex (TDD) system satisfying thecondition:${\left( {{10 \times n_{f}} + \left\lbrack \frac{n_{S}}{2} \right\rbrack - N_{{OFFSET},{TRS}}} \right){mod}\mspace{11mu}{TRS}_{PERIODICITY}} = 0$where n_(f) is a radio frame number, n_(s) is a slot number;N_(OFFSET,TRS) is the frame offset and TRS_(PERIODICITY) is theperiodicity of the BF-TRS transmission.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein N_(OFFSET,TRS) and TRS_(PERIODICITY) are defined by a parameterl_(TRS), which is predefined or configured by one or more higherprotocol layers via an extended management information block (xMIB), anextended system in formation block (xSIB) or UE-specific dedicated radioresource control (RRC) signaling from a serving eNB.
 16. An apparatus ofa user equipment (UE) capable to establish a communication connectionwith an eNB, the UE comprising processing circuitry to: detect aphysical downlink control channel xPDCCH (5G Physical Downlink ControlChannel) comprising a bit indicator which indicates to transmit abeamforming training reference signal (BF-TRS) to an eNB; in response tothe xPDCCH, to calculate a subframe gap to be inserted between thexPDCCH and transmission of the BF-TRS; and transmit, after the subframegap, an uplink (UL) beamforming training reference signal (BF-TRS) tothe eNB using transmit beamforming weights that are different, whereinan interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) signal structure is used to generate the ULBF-TRS in which the UL BF-TRS symbols are mapped into every two (2)subcarriers in the frequency domain, while remaining subcarriers are setto zero.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the UL BF-TRS istransmitted in a number (X) symbols within one subframe or transmittedin one or a plurality of subframes.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein the UL BF-TRS is transmitted in a frequency divisionmultiplexing (FDM) manner for multiple UEs.
 19. The apparatus of claim16, wherein the UE performs a transmit beamforming sweep on a number (N)BF-TRS repetition blocks based on an IFDMA structure.
 20. The apparatusof claim 16, wherein the UL BF-TRS is transmitted in a physical resourceblock (PRB) which is also used for the transmission of a physical uplinkcontrol channel (xPUCCH) for the UE.
 21. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein the UL BF-TRS sequence is defined by:${{r_{l,n_{s}}(m)} = {{\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {2m} \right)}}} \right)} + {j\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left( {1 - {2 \cdot {c\left( {{2m} + 1} \right)}}} \right)}}},{m = 0},1,\ldots\mspace{14mu},{N_{Max} - 1}$where n_(s) can be a number of a slot or a subframe within a radio frameand l is an OFDM symbol number within the slot or the subframe.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 21, wherein: the UL BF-TRS sequence is generated in apseudo-random sequence generator initialized as a function of at leastone of n_(s), a physical cell ID, a virtual physical cell ID, anindication of a normal cyclic prefix (CP) and extended CP; and thepseudo-random sequence generator may be defined as a function of a CellRadio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) and/or a Demodulationreference symbol (DM-RS) index used for the transmission of a physicaluplink shared control channel (xPUSCH).